Water shortage limits more cotton acres as price surges
year, as shoppers returned to stores and mills ramped up production, devouring cotton stocks. With a new crop on the horizon, Isom characterized the economic outlook for cotton as “cautiously optimistic.” If demand stays up and supplies remain short, he said, prices will hold strong. But he warned cotton prices are now at a point where merchants and mills are buying less and turning to synthet- ic fibers. The good news, he said, is the soaring oil market has increased the cost
of petroleum-based fibers such as poly- ester and rayon. For pima cotton at least, Isom said he thinks higher prices could hold through next season, though it will be “pretty tough” to sustain current pric- es. California still grows the majority of the world’s pima, and the slight bump in acreage this year won’t “make a big dent” in supply, he added. Other pro- ducers of extra-long staple cotton to watch include China, India and Pakistan
By Ching Lee Considering the red-hot price of cot- ton these days, California farmers say they would love to plant more of the field crop—if only they have the water. State cotton growers have increased plantings by a modest 10% more than last year, according to preliminary esti- mates by the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Association. In its March prospective plantings report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated state cotton acreage at 142,000 this year, up more than 24%. “We should see wall-to-wall cotton out there, and it’s not,” said Roger Isom, asso- ciation president and CEO. The price of pima cotton, a higher-end type of cotton that dominates state pro- duction, has reached record levels at around $3.40 a pound compared $1.20 to $1.50 during the past two years, he not- ed. Upland cotton prices also remain at historic highs—rising to more than $1.20 a pound from the more-typical 75 to 85 cents in recent years. Given current prices, Isom said in- creased state acreage comes as no sur- prise. But he lamented another year of drought has limited the amount that got planted. Such was the case with Kern County farmer Matthew Cauzza, who for the past three years has had to leave one field unplanted due to lack of water. Because his family has been growing cotton since the 1930s, they’re set up to grow and harvest cotton, which he described as “a safer bet” because of its “consistent outcome” compared to other crops he’s grown. He pointed to cotton’s versatility, which allows him to rotate it in between vegetable crops such as tomatoes, onion and garlic. There’s also “nostalgia” about cotton, he said, recalling growing up in a region where “every field was just cotton.” “We want to hold on to that a little bit, as long as we can do it,” Cauzza said. “Water is the only thing that’s keeping us from growing more cotton.” California cotton acreage peaked at 1.4 million to 1.6 million during the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Today, with drought limiting water supplies to farms and more land transitioning to permanent crops such as tree nuts, cot- ton acreage has declined to about 10% of what it used to be. Because so few acres are being grown, Isom said there’s concern that low cot- ton volumes won’t be able to support the state’s remaining commercial cot- ton gins, which have dropped to about a handful. Also, growers who got out of growing cotton have sold their cot- ton-picking equipment, he noted. “If those go away, how do you pick your cotton and get it to the gin?” Isom said. “We’re definitely seeing that and are very
concerned on the infrastructure side of it.”
Besides water shortages, depressed cotton prices in recent years eroded grower interest in planting the crop. Demand for cotton plunged during the height of the pandemic, when textile mills shuttered and people were buying less apparel. The market roared back last
See COTTON, Page 17
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May 18, 2022 Ag Alert 3
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